Fabrication of heterostructured Bi2O2CO3/Bi2O4 photocatalyst and efficient photodegradation of organic contaminants under visible-light

Meng Sun; Shuangli Li; Tao Yan; Pengge Ji; Xia Zhao; Kun Yuan; Dong Wei; Bin Du

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.03.027

Fabrication of heterostructured Bi₂O₂CO₃/Bi₂O₄ photocatalyst and efficient photodegradation of organic contaminants under visible-light

J Hazard Mater. 2017 Jul 5:333:169-178. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.03.027. Epub 2017 Mar 14.

Authors

Meng Sun¹, Shuangli Li¹, Tao Yan¹, Pengge Ji¹, Xia Zhao¹, Kun Yuan¹, Dong Wei¹, Bin Du²

Affiliations

¹ School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, PR China.
² School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, PR China; Key Laboratory of Chemical Sensing & Analysis in Universities of Shandong, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, PR China. Electronic address: dubin61@gmail.com.

PMID: 28351798
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.03.027

Abstract

Heterostructured Bi₂O₂CO₃/Bi₂O₄ photocatalysts were fabricated by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method, in which melem served as the sacrificial reagent to supply carbonate anions. The as-synthesized Bi₂O₂CO₃/Bi₂O₄ heterojunction catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. The XRD patterns of Bi₂O₂CO₃/Bi₂O₄ catalysts showed the distinctive peaks of Bi₂O₂CO₃ and Bi₂O₄. The SEM and TEM results showed that the pure Bi₂O₂CO₃ possessed large plate morphology, while Bi₂O₄ were composed of various nanorods and particles. As for Bi₂O₂CO₃/Bi₂O₄ heterojunction, it was obviously observed that Bi₂O₄ nanorods and particles were grown on the surfaces of Bi₂O₂CO₃ plates. The visible light driven photocatalytic activity of Bi₂O₂CO₃/Bi₂O₄ heterojunction photocatalyst was evaluated by decomposing dyes, phenol, and bisphenol A in water. Compared with Bi₂O₂CO₃ and Bi₂O₄, the Bi₂O₂CO₃/Bi₂O₄ photocatalysts have exhibited remarkable enhanced activity under visible light. The excellent activity can be mainly attributed to the enhanced separation efficiency of photo-generated carriers. Controlled experiments using different radical scavengers proved that O₂^- and h⁺ played the main role in decomposing organic pollutants. The results of this work would provide a new sight for the construction of visible light-responsive photocatalysts with high performance.

Keywords: Bi(2)O(2)CO(3)/Bi(2)O(4); Heterojunction; Organic pollutant; Photocatalysis; Visible-light driven.